Question
Updated on
21 Jan 2022
- English (US)
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German
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Japanese
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Simplified Chinese (China)
Question about Japanese
What do 「ちょっと聞くけどさぁ and 」「ちょっとお聞きしますが」 mean? Do they mean
A. "I'd like to ask you something,"
or B. "I am going to ask you something"?
日本語を勉強している人は「would like to」とか「want to」みたいなことを言うために、「~たい」か「~たい〇〇と思う」という言葉を使うべきのことが教えられています。
How often do you actually use ~たい or ~たい〇〇と思う? Do you often leave them out?
Also is it common leave out the direct object(〇〇を) in Japanese?
To me, 「ちょっとお聞きしますが 」 looks like "I'm going to ask you a little." Not, "I'd like to ask you something." There doesn't seem to be a direct object in this sentence. In other words, there is nothing to mark with を.
What do 「ちょっと聞くけどさぁ and 」「ちょっとお聞きしますが」 mean? Do they mean
A. "I'd like to ask you something,"
or B. "I am going to ask you something"?
日本語を勉強している人は「would like to」とか「want to」みたいなことを言うために、「~たい」か「~たい〇〇と思う」という言葉を使うべきのことが教えられています。
How often do you actually use ~たい or ~たい〇〇と思う? Do you often leave them out?
Also is it common leave out the direct object(〇〇を) in Japanese?
To me, 「ちょっとお聞きしますが 」 looks like "I'm going to ask you a little." Not, "I'd like to ask you something." There doesn't seem to be a direct object in this sentence. In other words, there is nothing to mark with を.
A. "I'd like to ask you something,"
or B. "I am going to ask you something"?
日本語を勉強している人は「would like to」とか「want to」みたいなことを言うために、「~たい」か「~たい〇〇と思う」という言葉を使うべきのことが教えられています。
How often do you actually use ~たい or ~たい〇〇と思う? Do you often leave them out?
Also is it common leave out the direct object(〇〇を) in Japanese?
To me, 「ちょっとお聞きしますが 」 looks like "I'm going to ask you a little." Not, "I'd like to ask you something." There doesn't seem to be a direct object in this sentence. In other words, there is nothing to mark with を.
Answers
21 Jan 2022
Featured answer
- Japanese
OK, I'll explain how I feel ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが(A) and ちょっとお聞きしますが(B) respectively.
I told you A sounds a bit more polite and milder than B. That's because A just states what you want to do, I mean it's up to the hearer whether they answer or not, while B sounds like you're going to do that and the hearer is supposed to answer. In other words B may sound a bit pushy, though it depends on the tone of the voice and the case.
When you guestion intensely someone, B sounds perfectly natural, though I wouldn't say A is unnatural. Say B is 100 points then A is 97 points.
(B)ちょっとお聞きしますが、次の電車はいつ来るんですか?
(A)ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが、次の電車はいつ来るんですか?
(situation:trains are off-shcedule and you're annoyed with that. "When the next train will come?" to a station attendant)
But it doesn't mean you can use B only when you grill someone.
(B)ちょっとお聞きしますが、ここは撮影禁止ですか?
(A)ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが、ここは撮影禁止ですか?
(Is taking a picture prohibited here?)
A sounds just a little bit more polite than B, but they sound almost the same to me. The way how you say it (voice and facial expression) is far more important.
conclusion: A sounds a bit more polite than B, but there's no big difference.
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- Japanese
I feel ちょっと聞くけどさぁ and ちょっとお聞きしますが are closer to B than A in a literal sense, but they are more likely to be translated like A because, as far as I know, it sounds more natural as a phrase supposed to be used before you ask someone something in English.
I say 〇〇たい or 〇〇たいと思う pretty often when I mean "I'd like to, I want to". To me,
ちょっと聞きたいんだけどさぁ or ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが
sounds as natural as
ちょっと聞くけどさぁ and ちょっとお聞きしますが .
The first two sound a little more polite and milder than the last two, though I don't mean the last two sound harsh.
(By the way, unlike "Do you want to~?"in English I don’t really say 〇〇たい? or 〇〇たいと思う?. I may sometimes use them when I talk with close friends but I rarely do that in a formal situation. To ask someone 〇〇たい? or 〇〇たいと思う? can be rude.)
ちょっと in ちょっとお聞きしますが is tricky and hard to explain. In my feeling it's just a word for softening awkwardness. I mean, to ask 聞くけどさぁ or お聞きしますが someone suddenly sounds awkward and weird. I'm not sure but I guess ちょっと derives from something like "It's not a big deal so I won't keep you long". Today we use it no matter how important the topic is, so it's just like a prelude of some music. In other words it might be like "Hey", "Excuse me" or "Can we talk now?".
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- Japanese
ちょっと in Japanese dictionary
https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E4%B8%80%E5%...
I feel 2 is pretty similar to "it's not a big deal".
2 その行動が軽い気持ちで行われるさま。「―そこまで行ってくる」
= it expresses that you/they do that with a light heart, casually.
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- English (US)
@tokage33 Thank you!
One of the things that bothers me is that I'm not used to leaving out the object of the verb. My first instinct would have been to say something like 聞きたいことがあります. I'm not sure when it's appropriate to just not have a noun.
Can you talk more about the difference between "ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが" and "ちょっとお聞きしますが"? Is it a difference of politeness, or something else?
One of the things that bothers me is that I'm not used to leaving out the object of the verb. My first instinct would have been to say something like 聞きたいことがあります. I'm not sure when it's appropriate to just not have a noun.
Can you talk more about the difference between "ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが" and "ちょっとお聞きしますが"? Is it a difference of politeness, or something else?
- English (US)
- Japanese
@yuen02
Actually I usually omit the object of the verb when it's obvious or there's no need to say it.
natural expression
(Dad) スーパーでお寿司が安かったから買ってきた。食べる?
(Son) うん、食べる。
correct but extremely unnatural expression
(Dad) スーパーでお寿司が安かったからそれを買ってきた。それを食べる?
(Son) うん、それを食べる。
聞きたいことがあります sounds totally natural, but it's too direct and serious depending on the situations.
natural
聞きたいことがあります。事件当日、被害者とは会いましたか。(Did you meet the victime on the day the incident happened?)
聞きたいことがあります。我々のやっていることは道徳的に正しいのでしょうか。(Is what we're doing morally right?)
unnatural (perfect if you want to say it jokingly)
聞きたいことがあります。今日の夕食は何ですか。(What's for dinner tonight?)
聞きたいことがあります。XX駅はどっちですか。(Which way is the XX station?)
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- Japanese
OK, I'll explain how I feel ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが(A) and ちょっとお聞きしますが(B) respectively.
I told you A sounds a bit more polite and milder than B. That's because A just states what you want to do, I mean it's up to the hearer whether they answer or not, while B sounds like you're going to do that and the hearer is supposed to answer. In other words B may sound a bit pushy, though it depends on the tone of the voice and the case.
When you guestion intensely someone, B sounds perfectly natural, though I wouldn't say A is unnatural. Say B is 100 points then A is 97 points.
(B)ちょっとお聞きしますが、次の電車はいつ来るんですか?
(A)ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが、次の電車はいつ来るんですか?
(situation:trains are off-shcedule and you're annoyed with that. "When the next train will come?" to a station attendant)
But it doesn't mean you can use B only when you grill someone.
(B)ちょっとお聞きしますが、ここは撮影禁止ですか?
(A)ちょっとお聞きしたいのですが、ここは撮影禁止ですか?
(Is taking a picture prohibited here?)
A sounds just a little bit more polite than B, but they sound almost the same to me. The way how you say it (voice and facial expression) is far more important.
conclusion: A sounds a bit more polite than B, but there's no big difference.
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- English (US)
- Japanese
@yuen02 Although I don't think I totally comprehend what you mean, let me tell you as far as I understand as a native.
ちょっと聞くけどさぁ sounds pretty casual. It's okay to say this phrase to people who are close to you, but maybe you shouldn't use it in formal situations.
ちょっとお聞きしますが sounds polite and it seems to be similar to "I'd like to ask you (something)," I suppose. You can use it in formal situations.
As for ちょっとお聞きしますが, there doesn't seem to be a direct object in this sentence. Yes, no direct object, I also think so. ちょっとお聞きしますが is just kind of "excuse me" that is a set phrase when start asking a question.
One of the things that bothers me is that I'm not used to leaving out the object of the verb.→we often omit words when they are clear in the context.
聞きたいことがあります → if this is literally translated into English, I have something to ask you. As you pointed out, the object of "聞きたい"is not to be seen but it can be showed after this phrase, like 聞きたいことがあります。〜はなんですか?、〜へはどう行けばいいですか?etc.
Hope this helps.
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- English (US)
@nomadatlatl
Thank you! Can I ask one more question? What is さぁ?
Sorry if that's hard to answer.
Thank you! Can I ask one more question? What is さぁ?
Sorry if that's hard to answer.
- Japanese
@yuen02 さぁ in this context doesn't mean such a thing. It's a colloquial expression usually used especially in Kanto region like Tokyo, Yokohama and the like, I suppose. Other than this, ちょっと聞くけどね andちょっと聞くけどなぁ etc are used in everyday conversations. I think this kind of addition in Japanese is a bit hard for non natives to understand, but don't be so sensitive.
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- English (US)
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